Malama Kauai is jammin at the farmers market these days! Gone are the days when we operated out of our offices at Common Ground – for 3 plus years we’ve immersed ourselves on the land, planted our own gardens and fruit trees and now house animals that replace our dependence on outside fertilizers and fossil fuels for mowing. This practical life experience gives us a whole new edge and a vibrant face forward. (YAY!)
In the beginning, just added to water/sugar
Pau! Ready to jar
We grow this amazing variety of banana called the Iholena Lele – it looks and acts like a typical banana but it’s flavor is more mild, a bit less sweet and stays hard and starchy until very ripe. Kinda like a plantain. I’ve done everything with this banana from making pancakes to vinegar. But this jam is really special. And if you choose not to make it at home you can come get a jar from me at the Saturday Farmers market!
Method – the recipe can be doubled or tripled – which is what I have to do when the rack is getting ripe at the same time.
- 7-10 ripe bananas – a few more if you’re using apple bananas, sliced into rounds
- 1:1.5 water to (organic) sugar, for 7 bananas use this ratio: 1 cup of water to 1.5 cups of organic sugar, for double the bananas, double the water to sugar
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 cinnamon stick
Take a medium sized pot and combine sugar and water and bring a boil. Squeeze the lime juice over your sliced bananas and mix. Add to your simmering sugar/water mixture and include the cinnamon stick. Stir every 15 minutes or so until thick. May take up to 45 minutes. Once it begins to stick to the bottom of pan and caramelize, you are pau! Jar as you like and use as a spread for buttered toast, a dollop on your pancakes or bowl of vanilla ice cream, with crackers and goat cheese, go bananas 😉